Nothing Else Matters
by BabyBrown
Summary: Mark Sloan does not crush on anyone, or at least he never used to. Mark/Lexie pairing
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy or it's characters.

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Dr. Mark Sloan sat in his lonely hotel room while flipping the tv channels absentmindedly. It was a Friday night and he wasn't on call for the whole weekend. Normally he would be at Joe's trying to pick up a woman to scratch what was becoming a permanent and unconquerable itch.

_'I'm sitting home alone like some depressed teenage girl_' he thought.

If he was being honest with himself, he was a little scared of going to Joe's. He didn't think he could trust himself not to go near Little Grey. It was frustrating. Self-restraint was not something he was familiar with.

There was a knock at the door.

"Coming"

He thought that as long as he was acting like a depressed girl, he might as well eat like one.

He pulled open the door 'It's about tim-' he then frowned 'You're not room service. Little Grey, what are you doing here?'

Suddenly he panicked. Little Grey should not be here. Not in little (no, BIG), big Sloan's empty hotel room.

Lexie walked in nervously wringing her hands.

'I just wanted to tell you that you did an amazing job today. It was like a miracle! You were able to make that woman talk again!'

Mark nodded 'Yes, I know. I was there.'

Lexie smiled 'Of course you were' and then laughed in that cute, breathless way she did when she was nervous.

'_No. Not cute_' he scolded himself.

Mark closed the door behind him even though warning bells were ringing in his head. But he couldn't help it; he was curious.

'_Curiosity killed the cat'_ he though humorlessly, 'So you came all the way over here just to tell me how amazing I am? Something I already know?'

'That's not why I came here.'

Mark's heart began to pound in his chest as she pulled her jacket off, revealing a tight purple tank top.

'I came here because I want you Dr Sloan.'

Mark felt his throat go dry at the look of mischief in her eyes. _Who was this sexy confident woman and what did she do with Lexie Grey_?

'I think you need to leave.'

He moved to open the door when it was like he was suddenly paralyzed. In a single motion, Lexie pulled off her shirt and was now standing in just her jeans and a bra. He snapped out of her spell when he watched her hands move towards the bra clasp, which was teasingly in between her breasts. On instinct, he rushed toward her and held her hands to stop them from completing their task. If that bra came off, it would be the end of him.

'Underwear stays on'

After a couple seconds, Mark's hands felt like they were on fire. Looking down, he realized that he had not removed his hands from Lexie's chest. He quickly pulled away, causing Lexie to smirk.

'They don't bite you know.' Lexie wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her chest up against his 'I've wanted you for so long.'

'No. You want O'Malley...'

'O'Malley's just a boy. What I need is a man.' She smiled 'A man like you.'

Mark leaned in to smell for alcohol, which looking back, probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. Lexie took his movement as a form of consent and softly pressed her lips against his.

He wasn't surprised to feel that her lips were warm and soft against his. They felt better than he had ever imagined. Mark parted his lips to exhale and Lexie deftly slipped her tongue through the small opening. He moaned as her velvet tongue softly began to massage his. The next thing he felt was her hands move underneath his shirt, tracing lazy circles across his abdomen. Cradling her face in his hand, Mark softly pulled on her left earlobe and he continued the assault on her lips.

'That feels good' she moaned as he kissed the back of her neck, inhaling her cinnamon shampoo.

'_Little Grey was even sweeter than he imagined'_

Little Grey. The nickname caused a slight opening in the fog he was quickly slipping into. He was not supposed to be touching Little Grey. He was not supposed to be kissing Little Grey and he definitely knew Little Grey's hand should not continue it's journey south.

Mark abruptly took a couple steps back 'I'm your boss' he gasped out.

Lexie slowly sauntered over to him and let her hands rest lightly on his chest.

'Then teach me Dr. Sloan. I was a bit slow in sex education.'

He tried. He really tried as hard as he could to put some distance between them but the minute he looked down, he was a goner. How did he never notice how beautiful she was? Cheeks and lips stained red from kissing. Dark brown hair messy from running his fingers through it. But it was the warm chocolate eyes that broke the last of his willpower. Who did Derek think he was? Mark Sloan was no saint. Why should this girl be any different from the countless others? They were both consenting adults fully aware of the consequences of sex.

The tension that had been flowing through his body since she walked through the door, seemed to vanish. With the tension gone, his confidence began to fill his veins. He smirked back at Lexie and suddenly felt like he wasn't lost anymore. Seducing a woman was familiar territory.

'Luckily for you, that was a subject I was very good at'

'How good?' Mark laughed deeply and swept her into his arms.

'I wrote the book.'

Lexie pressed her lips to his ears and whispered 'Dr. Sloan.....Dr. Sloan.....DR SLOAN!...'

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_Nothing Else Matters_ by Metallica


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy or it's characters.

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'_Dr. Sloan.....Dr. Sloan.......DR. SLOAN!'_

Mark quickly sat up as he heard his name being called. In his rush to do so, he ended up bashing his head against the top bunk. He groaned in pain and pressed his hand against his forehead.

'Whatever it is, it better be worth risking your life'

He couldn't wait to see which pathetic excuse of an intern dragged him out of an extremely good dream.

'Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry Dr. Sloan. Are you okay?'

His stomach dropped to the ground as he recognized the soft, timid voice of Lexie Grey. The recurring star in his dreams.

'I'm fine' he grumbled

When he looked up, all he could see were the hospital's hallway lights spilling into the on call room, framing her silhouette. He could vaguely see her face and noticed that her hair was messy, coming loose from the ponytail at the back of her head. It was disconcerting how much he wanted to hold her face in his hands and brush the hair away. Mark was about to ask her to turn on the lights when he was suddenly very aware of a little problem.

Correction - a _BIG_ problem.

'Hurry up Grey so I can get back to sleep' he demanded while discreetly shifting the pillow onto his lap.

Lexie jumped slightly 'Right. Mr. Doyle just arrived and he wants to know when you'll be performing his calve implants and his...' Mark smirked as she failed to say the next words.

'I can't hear you, Little Grey'

Lexie took a deep breath 'He wants to know when you'll be preforming his ...penis enlargement'

'See, that wasn't so hard. Lassie, you're a doctor now and doctors are never ashamed of the human body'

Lexie nodded meekly 'Yes Dr. Sloan'

'That's a good girl. Tell Mr. Doyle his surgery is scheduled for later this evening' he then smiled wickedly 'and then tell Mrs. Doyle that she will be a happy woman very soon.'

Lexie looked back down at the papers with what he knew was a look of disgust on her face. He knew she disliked the way he spoke to her sometimes, but it was just so much fun (and easy) to get a reaction out of her. Without even realizing it, he started imagining what other reactions he could get out of her.

_Like screaming_.

'Dr Sloan?'

He felt like he had been electrocuted when her hand touched his shoulder. For the first time since medical school, Mark Sloan was daydreaming about an intern. An intern, who so far, has shown no sign of wanting to sleep with him. The thought of someone not wanting to sleep with him put him off balance.

'What?' Lexie gave him a look he rarely ever saw directed at him. A look of worry that was bordering on concern. Concern for him.

'I've been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes' She pointed to his hip 'Your pager.'

Frustrated by this new daydreaming problem (and from the sex he's currently not having), he snatched up his lab coat from the foot of the bunk.

'_This is all her fault'_ he thought as his frustration quickly turned to into anger.  
'_Why did she have to be so innocent and so damn fragile?'_  
That was the only reason Derek and Meredith didn't want him around her.

Guys like Mark Sloan do not end up with girls like Lexie Grey.

She was the type of girl he could break with one look.

She was also the type of girl that drove guys like him crazy.

'Where's you're boyfriend? Still haven't told him?'

She shook her head.

"Pathetic" he said and made his way out the room.

He meant to make a clean getaway but made the mistake of looking back. Lexie was staring at him with a hurt and confused look on her face. The guilt immediately pressed down on him.

He placed his hands on his hips "Come on Little Grey. You're my intern for the day."

_What was wrong with him? He was now feeling guilty for being mean to an intern_?

Little Grey was going to be the end of him.

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Let me know what you think so far!!


	3. Chapter 3

**_I suck, yes I know. Life just gets in the way like it does and has prevented me from updating my story.  
As for tonight's episode, I needed WAY more Slexie than we got. After waiting for so long, I think we at least deserved some form of touching.  
Anyways, here is tonight's update. Hope you enjoy it! :D  
And just a reminder, Lexie and Mark still havent slept together in this story._**

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Mark Sloan does not like being preoccupied with thoughts of Little Grey running through his mind. It made his mind wander when he should have been paying attention to his job. The one where people's lives were in his hands. But instead, his thoughts drifted toward his hands being on a certain brown haired intern.

"Why doesn't Meredith like it when you call me Little Grey?"

He felt his heart leap up into his throat and then quickly drop to the floor.  
That was another thing he hated about being preoccupied; it gave pesky little interns the chance to sneak up on him.

"I'm gonna need to put a bell around your neck, Lassie. I need a warning when you decide to come out of nowhere."

Mark stealthily looked around for Derek or Meredith. It would be **very bad** if he was caught talking to Lexie Grey.

"What do you want? And it better not be something pathetic about O'Malley." The thought of the new resident was making him surprisingly angry.

"Why doesn't Meredith like you calling me Little Grey?'

"I have no idea,"_ **Liar,**_ he thought to himself "maybe she's jealous."

"Of me?" When Lexie shakes her head and chuckles in disbelief, he frowns. Did she really have that low of a self esteem?

"Why is that funny?"

"I'm just an intern. An alone, lonely intern on probation for almost killing someone. No one likes having me around. I don't even like having me around."

"I like having you around" As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he regretted them. The last thing he needed to do was tell **Little Grey** of all people, that he liked her.

"What?" He took a quick peek at her face and noticed her eyes had that _deer caught in headlights_ look to them.

"As far as interns go, you're not half bad. It's mostly that photographic memory of yours. Very useful." He quickly says but that doesn't stop the smile getting wider on her face

"Don't let it get to your head Little Grey."

"I'm not"

The next five minutes were spent in silence, making them the longest five mintues of his life. Mark tried to pay attention to the chart he was currently working but he found his body was very focused on the warm body next to him. He wished Lexie would just ramble in the way she does so he could forget the comment he let slip.

"You said mostly" Lexie suddenly blurt out.

"What?

"When you said you liked me, you said it was _mostly_ because of my photographic memory."

"Your point?" _Crap, _he thought. Sometimes he wished she didn't pay such good attention.

"Mostly isn't completely. I'm not letting it get to my head but, why else do you like me?"

"I'm not allowed to tell you"

"Why not?"

"Because Derek and Meredith don't think it's a good idea."

"Derek and Meredith? What do they have to do with this?"

"Meredith thinks you're a secret cutter, so you must be fragile and vulnerable and apparently I'm the demon spawn who shouldn't be around you."

"That's ridiculous"

"So you're not a cutter?"

"No, I'm not. But that's not what I meant by ridiculous."

"Then what did you mean?"

"You're not demon spawn. Admittedly you're no saint, but you're not evil."

This was one of the moments where Mark knew that he couldn't get invovled with Lexie Grey. She was too naive for her own good sometimes.

"You don't know me"

"I might not know your past, but I know you."

"I slept with my best friend's wife."

"Yet you and Dr. Shepherd are still best friends. People make mistakes. But you did the most important thing; you made it right in the end."

Mark shakes his head and opens his mouth to disagree but Lexie cut him off.

"An evil person wouldn't have let a little girl sleep on their shoulder. An evil person wouldn't take such good care of their patients like I've seen you do. And an evil person definitely wouldn't have sat with me in Joe's when I was sitting alone."

"Don't read too much into it. I just came in for a drink; you were sitting next to the only empty chair."

"But you didn't have to stay and talk to me." Mark watches as her face suddenly turns soft. "You made me laugh and made me forget why I was so sad in the first place."

Mark frowned. He didn't like hearing that she was unhappy or sad.

"Why were you sad?"

"I invited George for celebratory drinks after he passed his intern exam but he blew me off. Yes, I know I'm pathetic." She rolled her eyes.

In that moment, he regretted calling her pathetic. It wasn't her fault O'Malley was blind to what was in front of him.

"You're not pathetic anymore. George is just an idiot."

"Would an evil person be trying to make me feel better right now?" Lexie said with a knowing smile.

He realizes he's in dangerous territory and changes subject, "So if you're not a cutter, why does Meredith think you are?"

"Well, you know I'm on probation-" Mark nodded, "For almost killing another intern" he finished.

"Yeah, well before that, me and the other interns were practicing on ourselves."

"How?"

Lexie rolls up her sleeves and shows him her scars, "That's how I knew the pulley stitch."

Mark takes her arm and slowly runs his fingers over the scars, but when realizes what he's doing, he quickly drops her arm.

"That's the dumbest thing I've heard...understandable...but dumb."

"So now that you know I'm not fragile or vulnerable, can you tell me why you like me?"

"No."

"You're pathetic"

He turned to face her with an eyebrow raised. She was the only intern in the entire hospital that was not afraid of telling him what she thought. That was one of the reasons why he liked her so much. But like her or not, he wasn't going to let some intern talk to him like that in this hospital.

"I'm your boss. You can't talk to me like that."

"Sorry," Lexie smirks and then mutters under her breath, "it's true though."

"No it isn't" He retorted like a five year old.

"_When you like someone, tell them. Life's too short_....sound familiar?"

He cursed her photographic memory. She remembered way too much.

"You already know I like you."

"Tell me why"

"No." He said and turned his back to her.

Mark decides that maybe if he ignores her, she would drop the conversation, but he could feel her eyes burning a hole into his back. He sighs when he realizes she wasn't going to go away. Turning around to face her, he smirks at the way she's standing with her hands on her hips.

"If you think I'm gonna stand here and recite love poems to you, forget it. I like you. That's all you're getting."

Lexie just smiles at him before uttering "Pathetic"

"Shut up" Mark snatches his papers and walks away but not before he calls over his shoulder "See if I let you scrub in on my surgeries."

"You will cause you like me!" she calls out laughing.

Lexie laughs louder as she watches him come to a standstill before continuing down the hall.

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**_Reviews are nice :D_**


	4. Chapter 4

**Yay! Mama Shepherd likes Lexie! Although I enjoyed the Slexie scenes we got, I kinda wish we could get some kissing or touching scenes between them.  
****Here's the next update and thanks for all of the reviews! **

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One of the many things Mark Sloan was good at, was knowing how to avoid someone. Derek knew this, which is why it had taken him five hours to find Mark. Because when Mark doesn't want to found, he becomes damn near invisible. Mark was hiding out in the resident's locker room finishing his paperwork when Derek finally found him.

"Is Little Sloan leaving Little Grey alone?"

Mark's face twisted into a grimace and he shuddered. He twisted his body around and glared at Derek, who was standing at the door.

"Can you stop saying that, it's creepy. And yes, Little Sloan is not bothering Little Grey. Problem is, Little Grey won't leave Little Sloan alone."

Derek let out a chuckle as he let the door shut behind him.

"Come on! Lexie is not hitting on you"

Mark pointed to his head, "She is in here." He then sighed and ran his hand over his face.

"I can't stop thinking about her," he said.

Derek crossed his arms in front of his chest and stared at his best friend. He had never seen Mark display such control over his actions. Usually when he wanted to sleep with someone, he slept with them but here he was, showing a level of self control Derek never thought he had. Derek stepped forward before asking Mark a question that had been on his mind for the entire day.

"I heard you like her?" Mark looked at Derek and frowned, "Where did you hear that?"

"It's all around the hospital. Apparently you and Lexie were having a very cosy looking conversation that ended with Lexie calling out that you like her."

Mark groaned and sat back in his chair, "The amount of gossip around here is ridiculous." He then stared at Derek, "This is all your fault. You and your stupid seed. Now I cant get her out of my head because I'm not supposed to have her in my head.""

"I thought I told you to un plant it. "

"Too late. It's already sprouted. Roots. I've got roots now." Mark sighs dejectedly, "but it's not like it matters now."

"Why not?"

"Little Grey doesn't want Little Sloan."

"Why do you say that?"

"She doesn't act like all of the other females in this hospital. She's not afraid of me or infatuated with me. She doesn't follow me around like a love sick puppy like the other interns."

Derek laughed lightly at his friend. "Instead, you're the love sick puppy and she's got you following her around."

"You suck at this best friend thing." Mark glared at Derek before continuing, "besides, she's got a thing for someone else. It's pathetic, but she does."

"Does this person like her?"

"He's an idiot if he doesn't"

In that moment, something clicked in Derek's mind, "You have a crush on her."

Mark scoffed, "I do not crush on anyone. Don't turn this into a girl thing."

"Maybe you having a crush isn't so bad?"

Mark looked at Derek confused, "Hold on, didn't you want me to stay away from Little Grey's....little grey?

"Im starting to wonder if maybe Lexie would actually be good for you," he then smirks, "might actually turn you into a human being. You know, someone that cares about other people's feelings.."

"Now you're making fun of my pain. I'm leaving."

"Let me know when I should start referring to you as Mr. Lexie Grey." Derek called out to Mark's back.

Mark's eyes narrowed as he turned around to glare at his _best friend_, "Jackass."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Meredith was livid. _Why couldn't he follow simple instructions? Was it that difficult for him to keep his McPenis in his McPants?_

It was in this state of mind that she found Mark standing at the nurse's station and with her tiny ineffectual fist, she punched him in the arm.

"What was that for?" Mark looked at her in a state of shock and confusion as he rubbed his arm.

"Stay away from Lexie" Meredith warned.

Mark smirked as he realized what this was about. "I'm not Derek. You can't boss me around."

"Lexie is very fragile and vulnerable right now and getting involved with you isn't the smartest thing. You treat women like disposable gloves."

"First of all, these women you speak of all knew what they were getting into. Hell, I told them what to expect from the beginning. And second of all, you don't even care about Lexie so stop pretending."

Meredith narrowed her eyes at his statement.

"I'm not pretending. I'm evolving."

"So did you tell Karev to stay away? Cause I heard he slept with Little Grey and forgot."

"That was before. This is now. Now, I care."

"Sure" Meredith was starting to get on his nerves.

"I mean it Mark. Stay away from Little Grey."

"She's not as fragile as you think she is. Besides, last I looked, she was an adult who could think for herself."

Meredith's jaw drops and pokes him in the arm "Stop looking at her!"

Mark glares at Meredith "How does Derek put up with you?"

"You're an ass"

Mark crossed his arms in front of his chest and leaned back against the counter. "Didn't you already know that?"

She copies his stance and nods, "Yes. That's why you can't get involved with Lexie."

They stand in silence for a couple seconds before Mark says, "Just because I'm an ass to you and everyone else, doesn't mean I'm an ass to her."

"Then why have I heard rumors of her telling you to shut up?"

Mark rolled his eyes, "Don't these nurses have jobs to do? Yes, she told me to shut up; repeatedly, but it was only because I was telling her the truth."

"About what?"

"That, Big Grey, is none of your business. I don't care if you do '_care about her'._ "

Mark wanted to stay and laugh at the way Meredith's mouth was hanging open but he was getting tired of this conversation.

"Are we done here? Cause I've actually got work to do."

"Derek was right."

He looked up and was confused by the small smile on her face.

"About what?"

"You have a crush on her"

Mark groans loudly before yelling, "I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON LEXIE GREY" causing everyone in the area to stare at him.

Meredith laughs and starts walking away from him, "You do and don't even know it. Maybe I'll start calling you _McCrushy_ from now on."

Mark stands in shock until he realizes the entire floor was staring at him.

"There are sick people dying and all of you are just standing there. Get back to work!"

He watches everyone rushing to get back to work when he notices George suddenly rushing past and stops him. Annoyed, he realizes O'Malley would probably know where Lexie was.

"O'Malley, where's Grey?

"Uh, Meredith? I think she's assisting Dr-"

"Not that Grey, the other one. Little Grey."

George knit his eyebrows together in confusion, "You mean Lexie? What do you want with her?"

Mark gave him a threatening look, "Since when do I answer to you Wonder Boy. Didn't you become a resident like ten minutes ago?

George looked down embarrassed and started fidgeting.

"She's in the supply closet on the second floor" he said before rushing off in the other direction.

Mark watches him go and shakes his head,

"Idiot."

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**a bit long but I hoped you liked it!**


	5. Chapter 5

Mark Sloan does not hesitate when it comes to something that he wants. Whether it be a woman, a surgical case or even the last blueberry scone at the bakery he had fought an old lady over earlier that morning. So why was he finding himself unable to open the door to the supply closet where he knew Lexie was hiding. And why was there a strange feeling in his stomach just thinking about her. He refused to believe that he had a crush on Little Lexie Grey. He liked her, but not in that way. At least, that was what he kept telling himself. Mark took a deep breath and finally put his hand on the doorknob.

He saw Lexie sitting in the middle of the supply closet with files all around her. He smiled at the child like frustration on her face.

Mark knocked on the door to get her attention, "Little Grey" he said in greeting.

He was prepared to be met with a smile or maybe even to find her blushing in embarrassment from their earlier conversation. So Mark was surprised to see the look on her face. In less than two seconds, Lexie's face went from surprise to absolute annoyance.

"Dr. Sloan." She then looked down at the file in her lap and sighed heavily.

The sigh and tone of her voice was familiar to him. He had heard it directed at him by many disappointed women and usually he deserved it, but he had no idea what he had done to deserve it from Lexie. He shut the door behind him and took a spot on the floor next to her.

"Not happy to see me?"

Lexie ignored his question and decided to ask one of her own.

"How did you know I was here?" she said, without looking up from her lap.

"Your boyfriend told me"

Even though he knew those words would probably anger her even more, he just couldn't help himself.

"Shut up" she replied, still not looking at him.

"Grey, that's not how interns speak to an attending. Especially interns on probation."

Lexie turned to face him with a forced smile.

"What can I do for you this morning Dr. Sloan?"

Mark was slightly taken aback. He had never seen Lexie look at someone with less than kindness and here she was, practically shooting daggers from her eyes.

"What's with the attitude?"

"I don't have an attitude."

"Yes you do."

Lexie sighed, "Can you tell me what you want so that I can go back to work?"

"I want you to tell me what's bothering you." Mark was surprised at the protective tone he heard in his voice although he shouldn't have been. This woman in front of him always seemed to invoke long buried emotions inside of him. He knew she had heard the feeling in his words when her eyes softened for a moment. After looking into his eyes for a moment, she suddenly deflated like a popped balloon before his eyes.

Lexie rubbed her eyes with the tips of her fingers, "I'm sorry. I'm taking all my anger out on you."

Mark smiled, slightly relieved that he hadn't actually done anything wrong, "I've had worse Little Grey. I think I can take what you dish out."

Lexie gave him a sideways glance and smiled before frowning, "It's just, everyone in the hospital is talking about us."

"Well, you were the one yelling in front of the entire hospital" Mark shut his mouth when she glared his way.

"Then George came to warn me about you." She looked at him nervously, "He said that you were using me."

Mark suddenly wanted to ring O'Malley's neck with his bare hands.

"O'Malley doesn't know anything."

"And it's not just George. All day, people have been telling me terrible things about you." she continued softly.

Lexie then looked into his eyes. Those same warm brown eyes he had been dreaming about for weeks.

"I need to know if what they say is true. And if it is, just tell me now. Tell me that all of this is just a game to you."

She didn't need to explain, he knew what "all of this" meant. For weeks now, whenever she was assigned to his service, they would banter and playfully tease each other. She made him eager to go to work every day, just to see the light in her eyes when she knew an answer or to see her enthusiasm for whatever procedure she was assigned, no matter how dull or boring it was.

"You're not a game to me Lexie" he whispered.

Mark felt his heart speed up as she nervously bit her lip.

"So, we're friends?"

"I can't be your friend Lexie."

Her eyes reflected the pain of yet another rejection in her life.

"Am I really so bad?"

"No. I am." Mark said softly "I wouldn't be a good friend for you."

"This is that whole '_It's not you, it's me speech'_ isn't it?"

Mark sighed and ran a hand over his face, "I'm trying to be nice here."

She couldn't understand that he was trying to protect her. To protect her from him.

"You're never nice to interns."

"Im not nice to _interns_. I'm trying to be nice to _one_ intern. You might know her to be slightly neurotic, stubborn and one of the most promising interns I've ever met."

What he didn't say was that she was also the most beautiful woman he had ever laid his eyes on_. _But that was one thing he knew he had to keep to himself.

When Lexie smiled and turned a deep shade of red, Mark couldn't help but laugh. "Shut up" she said playfully.

Lexie then took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes.

"I feel like I can trust you" she admitted.

More than anything, Mark wished he could tell her that he was trustworthy. Yet his track record proved time and time again that he couldn't be trusted. Especially with women.

Mark suddenly began to feel uncomfortable with the way she was staring at him. He could feel his control slipping from his fingers so he quickly took charge of the conversation.

"Why are you hiding out in the supply closet"

Lexie gave him a knowing smile. She knew a subject change when she heard one.

"Im not hiding. I like it in here. None of the residents or _mean_ attendings come in here." Mark's heart sped up at the teasing smile she sent his way.

There must be something wrong with his heart because this wasn't normal. One smile shouldn't make his heart feel like bursting from his chest.

"There's no reason for us to come in here. That's what interns are for."

Mark then pointed to the large stacks of charts "You're working hard."

Lexie sighed and nodded "Yeah, well ever since I was put on probation and named the ring leader of the whole almost-killing-someone surgery, Dr. Yang decided I need to be busy every second of the day so I have to rewrite every single case file she's had for the past six months."

"Understandable. She doesn't want you cutting up other interns during your free time" he teased.

"You're not very good at this nice thing, are you?"

Mark smirked, "Not really"

Mark couldn't help but be hypnotized by the way her face lit up with laughter. It was the sweetest sound he had ever heard and it felt like he was being put under her spell.

"I have roots" he suddenly blurt out without thinking. '_**Crap'**_ he thought as he shut his eyes.

"What?"

Mark opened his eyes to see Lexie's confused face looking back at him.

"I have roots."

Lexie tilted her head and looked at him in silent confusion as she waited for him to continue.

"And I need to get rid of them."

"Okay, why did you need to get rid of them?"

He knew that he wasn't making any sense, but was relieved that she was deciding to play along.

"Because I'm not supposed to have roots. Roots are bad."

"You know I have no idea what you're talking about right?"

Mark nodded "I'm counting on it."

Lexie narrowed her eyes in thought before saying, "Maybe you should just leave the roots alone."

"Why?" he couldn't help but wonder what she was going to say.

"Roots are proof that something good and beautiful can grow out of even the darkest and loneliest of places."

Mark's heart stopped. He couldn't understand it. Even when she had no idea what he was talking about, she always seemed to make perfect sense and speak to him in a way no one else ever could.

"You're amazing" he said.

Lexie turned a deep shade of red "Thanks, I guess?"

Mark watched her mouth open to say something else when her pager suddenly went off. He watched her quickly become nervous and flustered.

"It's Dr. Yang. I have to go or she's going to kill me" she said stacking all of her files together as he stood up behind her.

Lexie almost knocked into him and he realized that he was blocking her way to the door and moved out of the way. He then watched as she stopped before the door and slowly turned around. Lexie tucked a piece of hair behind her ear before looking at him.

"I guess I'll see you later, Dr. Sloan." She then gave him that smile that seemed to send his heart in a frenzy.

Mark nodded "Bye Little Grey."

When she left the room, Mark was left with only one thought.

Mark Sloan definitely had a crush on Little Lexie Grey.

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**I just had to use that "Am I really so bad" part from the show. I hope you guys liked this chapter!  
**


	6. Chapter 6

Ten minutes later, Mark looked out of the supply closet. He made sure the coast was clear before exiting. Normally, he wouldn't care about being seen with a woman in the supply closet, or any closet for that matter, but that strange urge to protect Lexie from the ruthless gossiping nurses made him overly cautious.

As he made his way to the nurse's station, he found Callie already there. Callie looked up from her file and smirked at him.

"So what nurse has got you all hot and bothered?"

Mark frowned "I don't know what you're talking about"

Callie faced him and put her hand on her hip, "I just saw you leave the supply closet all sneaky like. So spill, who was it? And it better not be Dr. Robbins."

"The new Peds surgeon? So is that who kissed you in the bathroom at Joe's?"

Callie smiled as she fondly remembered the kiss. "Yeah. "

She then shoved her finger in his face, "Don't change the subject. Who was it?"

Mark suddenly became fascinated with her file "Any good surgeries today?"

Callie sighed and closed her file. "Fine, don't tell me. I'll figure it out soon enough Mark. You're terrible at keeping secrets."

She then patted his shoulder and walked towards the elevators.

---

A couple of minutes later, Mark felt another pat on his shoulder. He figured Callie forgot something and felt his stomach drop when he gazed down at a pair of dark brown eyes. Even though he had seen her no less than twenty minutes ago, those twenty minutes felt like a lifetime to him. Mark shook his head. What was wrong with him? He was Mark Sloan. A loner. He was independent and self sufficient and he was not about to let an intern, a very _young_ intern, get under his skin. He had to get a grip on this runaway train called his emotions.

"Why are you touching me Little Grey?" Lexie unexpectedly smiled up at him and Mark almost forgot how to breathe.

"To get your attention Dr. Sloan."

"You could have coughed or cleared your throat."

Mark was now reluctantly smiling back at her. It wasn't something he could help; her smile was contagious.

"I did. I even called your name. Very loudly."

Mark didn't think Lexie noticed how her words affected him. She had been calling out his name loudly for the past few weeks in his dreams. Mark shifted slightly away from her as he felt his scrubs tighten.

"Why are you here?" Lexie moved closer to him, which did not help his current situation.

"Dr. Yang sent me to plastics for the day."

Mark turned to looked at her "Why?"

Lexie smiled up at him, "Probably because of your reputation for making interns cry."

Mark scoffed, "I don't make interns cry."

"Megan was in the bathroom for an hour after you yelled at her about the importance of your blueberry scone and bone dry cappuccino."

"Not my fault interns are sensitive." Lexie was now so close, he could smell her hair as she brushed up against him.

"Well lucky for you I'm not that sensitive. I think I can take what you dish out."

He saw her eyes shining with playfulness. She was challenging him. He had to give her credit, no other intern had the balls to challenge him the way she did. Mark turned to face Lexie and gave her his most brilliant smile.

"We'll see about that Little Grey."

It was going to be an interesting day.

---

Little did he know that one interesting day would turn into interesting _days_. Cristina Yang had banished Lexie to "_boring and mundane_" plastics indefinitely and Mark didn't know if he should be insulted or kiss Yang for allowing him more time to be around Little Grey. If Yang realized that he was actually doing more than nose jobs or breast implants, like that face transplant he had coming up in a couple weeks, she would probably take Lexie off his service. So whenever he caught Yang looking at him and Lexie, Mark would make sure to yell extra loudly at Lexie for something. Lexie must have realized what he was doing since she never seemed angry at him afterwards. She would just give him that special smile and apologize for whatever he was yelling about.

With Lexie all but glued to his hip during his cases, he started to notice the small things she would do. He learned that she loved her coffee milky and sweet, that she tended to chew on her bottom lip when concentrating and that no matter how hard she tried; her hair would constantly find it's way out of her ponytail.

When Mark walked out of his patient's room, he went over to Lexie at the nurse's station. As he neared, he noticed that she kept blowing her hair out of her face. It kept falling into her eyes and had been bothering her all day, like it had been for the past couple days. So when that same strand of hair fell again, Mark instinctively reached out and pushed the strand behind her ear. Both of them froze as they realized what he had just done. Mark felt his fingers burning as he removed his hand from her hair.

Lexie bit her lip nervously as Mark swallowed roughly "Uh. Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

They both looked in opposite directions and Mark noticed a very curious looking Callie looking at him from across the room.

Mark mentally cursed himself as he realized that Callie was right.

He wasn't very good at keeping secrets.

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**Thank you all for the reviews! I really appreciate them!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for taking so long! I wanted to get this chapter just right. It's a pretty long one too.  
****Thanks for all the reviews everybody! I really appreciate them!  
****Okay, so this chapter is going to be a bit different since it's going to be in Lexie's POV. It's gonna explain her thoughts on the previous events in this fic.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy or it's characters.**

* * *

---

_When he looked up, all he could see were the hospital's hallway lights spilling into the on call room, framing her silhouette. He could vaguely see her face and noticed that her hair was messy, coming loose from the ponytail at the back of her head. It was disconcerting how much he wanted to hold her face in his hands and brush the hair away._

---

Lexie Grey like to think of herself as a smart girl. It wasn't that she was conceited, she just appreciated the level of intellect she possessed that not many others had. But even with her Harvard diploma and her med school degree, not to mention a photographic memory; she could still not figure out what the opposite sex was thinking. Or maybe it was just the male population of Seattle Grace that was so perplexing.

First there was Alex Karev, who embarrassingly forgot he had sex with her; George O'Malley, who was too blind or too stupid to notice her feelings for him; and last, but definitely not least, there was Mark Sloan. Now, Lexie wouldn't presume to think that a man like him would ever have any interest in a girl like her but he was nice enough to her. He treated her like an actual person, which is more than anyone else around here treated her. Her resident didn't know her name and her own sister didn't even want to talk to her without Dr. Shepherd's insistence. Lexie wasn't blind. She saw more than most people realized. She knew that Dr. Shepherd forced Meredith to talk to her and as much as she appreciated his good intentions, she would rather Meredith come to talk to her because she wanted to and not because she was forced. This wasn't how she wanted her relationship with Meredith to go.

Lexie nonchalantly looked around while trying to convince herself that she wasn't looking for a certain plastic surgeon. She had the strangest feeling that he had been avoiding her ever since she had woken him up in the on call room, which was impressive considering they were both taking care of the same patient, Mr. Carson. It was one of the rare times when Dr. Yang and Dr. Sloan would be working together and she was the intern in the middle. Whenever she would walk into a patient's room, the nurses would mention that Lexie had just missed him and that he left instructions for her to follow.

Lexie rubbed her eyes. She was still confused as to what had exactly happened in the on call room. When she had woken him up, he had looked at her so strangely. There was confusion, definitely anger, and something else she couldn't quite put her finger on. She wanted to say longing, but that couldn't be right. Dr. Sloan couldn't possibly long for a boring and inconsequential intern like her.

_'He was probably having a dream about someone else'_ Lexie thought to herself. '_Someone much prettier and definitely sexier than me_.'

Lexie continued to make excuses for the look in his eyes as she went back into Mr. Carson's room for her forgotten pen. When she reached the room, Lexie looked up and unexpectedly caught the eye of the elusive Dr. Sloan through the room's window. Her mind went completely blank when their eyes met.

No amount of excuses could explain the shivers she felt travel down her spine at the look in his eyes.

---

_"Why doesn't Meredith like it when you call me Little Grey?"_

_---_

"So you've been spending a lot of time with Dr. Sloan lately." Lexie looked up and saw Meredith standing next to her.

Lexie actually had to fight the urge of checking to see if Dr. Shepherd was around. It wasn't like Meredith to start up a conversation with her.

"Not really" Lexie said while pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. She felt strangely nervous as Meredith's eyes narrowed slightly.

"He's your boss."

Lexie's eyebrows knit in confusion "I know. He's your boss too."

"Yeah, but he treats you different."

Lexie swallowed loudly "He treats me like any other intern."

"No he doesn't."

"What are you talking about Meredith?"

"He calls you Little Grey."

"So?"

"I don't like it."

"Why not?"

Meredith opened her mouth to answer when her pager suddenly went off. Meredith rushed off without so much as a goodbye to her.

"Nice talking to you too" Lexie muttered and rubbed her forehead.

She was starting to get a headache from trying to understand the people around her. First Dr. Sloan and now Meredith. Since when did Meredith care what Dr. Sloan decided to call her? It wasn't mean or degrading, at least it didn't feel that way to her. Lexie thought for a few minutes before walking towards the elevators. She was going to find Dr. Sloan and get some kind of answers out of him. Little did she know what kind of answers she was going to get.

---

_"Shut up" Mark snatches his papers and walks away but not before he calls over his shoulder "See if I let you scrub in on my surgeries."  
__"You will cause you like me!" she calls out laughing.  
__Lexie laughs louder as she watches him come to a standstill before continuing down the hall._

_---_

Lexie laughed as she watched Dr. Sloan walk away.

_'Stomp was actually more like it'_ she thought with another laugh.

She couldn't believe that he had admitted to liking her. Now she didn't know whether he meant as a friend or as something else but it didn't really matter that much to her. All she could focus on was that he actually liked having around; that at least someone could stand her.

The pager at her hip began to vibrate and Lexie was soon running to the elevators. She didn't want Dr. Yang to have any more reasons to be angry with her.

A small frown came to her face as she waited for the elevator. She just realized that the downside to finding out Dr. Sloan had some kind of interest in her was that now all she could think about was how she felt about him.

'_Crap.'_

---

_Lexie rubbed her eyes with the tips of her fingers, "I'm sorry. I'm taking all my anger out on you."  
__Mark smiled, slightly relieved that he hadn't actually done anything wrong, "I've had worse Little Grey. I think I can take what you dish out."  
__Lexie gave him a sideways glance and smiled before frowning, "It's just, everyone in the hospital is talking about us."  
__"Well, you were the one yelling in front of the entire hospital" Mark shut his mouth when she glared his way.  
__"Then George came to warn me about you." She looked at him nervously, "He said that you were using me."_

---

"Hey Lexie!" Lexie groaned as she heard George's voice.

She knew what he was going to want to talk about and she really didn't want to hear it. All day long, people she didn't even know had been offering her advice about Dr. Sloan, or as he was named by the nurses, _McSlutty_.

"I can't talk right now George. Dr Yang has me swamped with work."

"What I have to say will only take a minute."

Lexie sighed heavily. There was no way of getting out of this conversation. "I'm listening."

"You need to stay away from Sloan. He is bad news Lexie. I've seen him destroy many lives and he'll only do the same to you."

"I know."

George frowned, he was obviously expecting a fight. "You do?"

Lexie nodded "Yeah, every single person in this hospital has already told me what you just told me and you know what?"

She then leaned forward like she was about to divulge a big secret, "I don't care."

"It doesn't bother you that he's going to just use you?"

Lexie rolled her eyes. "What bothers me is that everyone around here doesn't know how to mind their own business."

George began to open his mouth but Lexie cut him off.

"I heard what you did to Dr. Torres with Dr. Stevens." Lexie felt a little satisfaction at the way George suddenly became very silent.

"As much as I don't like what you did, I never held that against you. People make mistakes and Dr. Sloan deserves the same chance to show he's not what everyone else thinks he is."

"But it's _Sloan_, Lexie."

"He's still human. He has feelings just like everybody else." Lexie started to gather all her files, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some work to do Dr. O'Malley."

George frowned "Lexie, we're friends. You don't have to call me that."

Lexie glared at him "A real friend would trust my judgement. I am a grown woman. I think I can decide who my friends are," she paused before finished her thought, "and right now, I don't know if you're one of them."

With that, Lexie turned and walked away before he could respond.

---

_A couple of minutes later, Mark felt another pat on his shoulder.  
He figured Callie forgot something and felt his stomach drop when he gazed down at a pair of dark brown eyes._

_---_

"What are you doing three?" Cristina asked Lexie as soon as Lexie reached her.

"N-nothing Dr. Yang."

"And why is that?"

"Well, I finished rewriting all the charts already."

Cristina looked at Lexie before looking back down at the chart in her hands. "I don't have time to think up punishments for you right now. Go to plastics."

Lexie couldn't believe what she was hearing. "What?"

"Go far away to plastics where you can't bug me."

Cristina took a fleeting glance at Lexie before walking away "And take that ridiculous smile of your face. I don't want you happy."

"Y-yes Dr. Yang. Sorry Dr. Yang." Lexie power walked to the elevators.

She couldn't believe her luck. Ever since she had left Dr. Sloan in the supply closet, she had wanted nothing more than to turn right back around to him. Something about being around him made her feel alive. More alive than she's felt since her mother had died.

---

_As he neared, he noticed that she kept blowing her hair out of her face.  
__It kept falling into her eyes and had been bothering her all day, like it had been for the past couple days.  
So when that same strand of hair fell again, Mark instinctively reached out and pushed the strand behind her ear.  
Both of them froze as they realized what he had just done._

---

Lexie placed her pen down and started massaging her wrist with her other hand. If she had known that the road to becoming a doctor was more paperwork than actual medicine, she might have chosen a different profession. She couldn't wait for the day she was a real surgeon and in charge of her own patients.

Lexie brushed back a piece of hair and glanced at the room Dr. Sloan was currently in. His patient had just come out of surgery and he was making sure everything was in order before his shift ended. His thoroughness with his patients was one quality that she greatly admired in him. All of his cases were given the same amount of care, no matter how big or small the case was. Lexie hoped that she would be as great a surgeon as he was.

When she saw him begin to approach her, Lexie quickly looked away. The last thing she wanted to do was give him the idea that she was some love sick intern lusting after him.

_'Not that he wasn't lustworthy,'_ Lexie mused and proceded to imagine what she would do to him if she ever got the chance.

Lexie tried pushing the dirty thoughts she was currently having to the farthest corner of her mind as Dr. Sloan neared. If she wanted to get any kind of work done around him, she would need to concentrate on the medicine itself and not the gorgeous man behind the medicine. Lexie thought she was doing a good job of not thinking of him out of his scrubs until he actually reached her. When he tenderly brushed her hair back, sending tingles rushing through her body, Lexie couldn't help but wonder what else his fingers could do to her body.

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**Please read & review! :D**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry for the delayed update. It was part writer's block and part my puppies decided to chew up my laptop's power cord. Arent puppies lovely?  
I'm using my mom's laptop at the moment so I don't know how long it'll be between updates while I wait for my new power cord in the mail.**

**So I'm loving the direction Mark and Lexie are going in the show. That last episode was just so awesome.  
I thought that Chyler Leigh's pregnancy would mess up the Mark/Lexie scenes but Im kinda thinking it's making them a little better. Her pregnancy is making Lexie look happy and glowing in her relationship with Mark.**

**This is mostly a Callie/Mark friendshippy chapter. I love their friendship on this show and I wanted to incorporate some of it into this fic.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Grey's Anatomy or it's characters.**

* * *

Callie Torres liked to think she was stealthy. Or at least that's what she hoped as she looked around the surgical floor for the new Peds surgeon, Arizona Robbins.  
But her search was momentarily put on hold when she felt a pair of hands grab her shoulders and steer her towards an on call room.

As soon as the door was shut behind her, Callie felt a pair of lips on hers. Fantasies of a new blonde surgeon went through her mind as she responded to the kiss, but when she felt the stubble against her own skin, she quickly realized that this wasn't the pair of lips she was hoping to be attached to.

Callie opened her eyes and forcefully pushed the owner of the unwelcome lips off of her. "Mark, what the hell are you doing?"

Mark looked at her like she was a few eggs short of a dozen, "We're in an on call room. What do you think I'm doing?"

Callie stared dumbfounded as Mark pulled off his shirt. She quickly regained her focus when she noticed his hands about to pull down his pants.

"Whoa, hold on a minute there cowboy" Callie said as she rushed forward and put her hands on his.

Mark looked at her in confusion, "You want to do it yourself?"

Callie shook her head and removed her hands. "No. I'm not doing anything. _We're_ not doing anything."

Mark then proceeded to pout like a child not getting his way. "Why not?"

"Because you really don't want to do this."

"What are you talking about? I just pulled you into an empty on call room. Why wouldn't I want to do this?"

Callie stared at him in silence and then gazed pointedly at the front of his scrub pants where they both noticed absolutely nothing was going on below his belt.

Mark frowned dissapointingly at his crotch, "It's been like this for weeks. I think it's broken."

Callie laughed as Mark looked down into his pants at his uncooperative body part, "It isn't broken Mark. You just don't want to have sex with everything that moves. I think you've finally grown out of your manwhore stage."

Callie then grabbed Mark by the arm and sat him down next to her on the on call bed.

"Now that we're here, I have to tell you something."

"What?" Mark said dispassionately now that this meeting in the on call room wasn't going as he planned.

"I think I have a type now." Callie said excitedly.

Mark frowned, "What are you talking about?"

"Erica, Sadie and now Arizona. All blondes. I think I'm a real lesbian now that I've got a type" Callie said with a big smile on her face.

"Been there, slept with that. Not really my thing."

Callie smiled knowingly "Brunettes more your thing?" Her smile got bigger when Mark groaned.

"The hair touching? Yeah, I kind of saw that. As a matter of fact, I think the entire surgical floor saw it."

Mark sighed, "I have no idea what's wrong with me. I can't eat, I can't sleep, I can't even get an erection without thinking about her."

Callie raised her shoulders and threw her hands up "Okay, I might be your friend but that's _wa-a-ay_ too much information."

Mark ignored her comment, "It's like she's got this power over me and makes it impossible to control myself. I do and say things that I shouldn't do or say. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. This has never happened to me before." He then sighed and placed his head in his hands.

Callie felt sorry for him. He had lived his whole life believing that he was never good enough for anyone. Believing that all he was good for was a quick round of meaningless sex. Something she was guilty of thinking herself. But as she got to know him, she saw that there was so much more underneath the surface of the infamous Mark Sloan. After years of sleeping with countless women, he was finally developing legitimate feelings for someone that could actually turn into something real. Even if it was with Lexie Grey. Callie couldn't really see what was so special about Lexie but she could see how special Lexie was to him. And as a friend, she would try and support him in anyway that she could.

Callie placed her arms around his shoulders and felt Mark stiffen at the contact.

"What are you doing?" he asked and she could hear the genuine confusion in his voice.

"This is called a hug. It's what friends do when one is feeling lost" Callie explained like she was talking to a child. Sometimes she wondered what kind of childhood he had growing up if he couldn't recognize a hug when he got one.

"Oh...Okay," Mark replied and awkwardly placed his right hand on her arm that was across his chest.

It was in that moment of friendship that someone decided to enter the on call room.

"Dr. Sloan, Dr. Yang needs a consult for..." Lexie's sentence trailed off as she took in the scene before her; a very shirtless Mark sitting on a bed with Callie hugging his bare torso.

Lexie stared at him for what seemed like an eternity before she quickly regained her composure. "Uh, I'm sorry...I'll just...." she managed to say before running out of the room.

Mark stood and grabbed his shirt from the floor, roughly pulling it over his head. He wanted to hit himself for being so stupid. What was he thinking; trying to sleep with someone else when his feelings for Lexie were so obvious. His fear of what he was feeling for Lexie caused him to make a huge mistake. He needed to fix this and he needed to fix this **_now_**.

"What do I do?" He said looking at an equally unnerved Callie.

All Callie had wanted to do was comfort her friend and now she was worried she might have screwed up his chance with Lexie.  
So Callie said the only thing she could think of, "Why are you looking at me? _GO AFTER HER!"_

And with those words of wisdom, Mark bolted out of the room.

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**Please read and review!**


	9. Chapter 9

***peeks out* Hi guys! I havent updated this story in a looong time and hopefully I'll be able to update a bit more since I really want to finish this story. I'm not making any promises since school is taking up a lot of my time but I'm going to try :)**

* * *

Mark slammed the door of the locker room shut, thankful that there was no one else inside. He roughly pulled his scrub shirt over his head and threw it into the corner of his locker.

Mark had spent the better part of the day half focused on his cases. Whenever he tried to concentrate, his thoughts had continuously traveled to Lexie, who at the moment may or may not hate him. After the misunderstanding in the on-call room with Callie, Mark had looked for her everywhere, he even spoke to the other interns but they all claimed to not have seen her.

As he went to put his t-shirt on, he heard someone knock on the door before pushing it open. His heart jumped into his throat as the subject of his worry was now standing infront of him.

Lexie smiled nervously "Mrs. Howell is responding wonderfully to the antibiotics and the swelling in her face has gone down."

Medicine. That's what she came in here to talk to him about. Mark felt a small rush of relief, if she wasn't going to bring up the incident, he thought that maybe she wasn't upset about it. It wasn't like what she walked in on was higher than PG. It was just a hug. A hug in an empty on-call room. While he was shirtless. With someone he used to have sex with.

"About earlier-"

Lexie held up her hands, "It's okay. I didn't realize you had someone in there with you. I'm sorry if I interrupted anything."

Mark knew that he could just accept her apology and move on. She was giving him an out. She was making it easier for him to do what he always did when a situation became too emotional. She was giving him a chance to run. But for some reason, Mark didn't want the easy way out. He didn't want Lexie to think he was dragging random women into on-call rooms. He wanted Lexie to see that there was more to him than that.

Why did he care so much about what Lexie thought? Why did it matter so much to him that she knew the truth about what really happened? Normally he was fine with letting others think whatever they wanted about him, but with Lexie, he wanted to show her a different side of Mark Sloan. A side that no one else knew about. A side that he barely acknowledged he even had.

"You didn't walk in on anything Lexie. We were just talking."

Lexie tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, "It's alright Dr. Sloan. If you're worried I'm gonna go feed the rumor mill, you don't have to be. We're friends. I wouldn't do that to a friend."

Mark wished that his heart didn't sink the way it did when the word _'friend'_ passed over her lips. He had been so worried that Lexie might have taken the sitation wrong and been angry or upset with him. What he didn't expect was for her to act like she didn't care. That was worse than anger. He started to feel like he was losing something before he even had it.

"No, you don't understand. Nothing was going on between me and Dr. Torres. We were just talking."

"It didn't look like talking." Lexie muttered, her voice sounding oddly bitter.

Mark looked into her face carefully. For the first time during the conversation, Lexie's true emotions accidentally came out. He could see the momentary flash of jealously on her face before it composed itself into the calm and cool mask she had entered the room with. That little slip of control gave him the slightest bit of hope that maybe all was not lost.

"Well it was."

"But you were shirtless," Lexie blurt out.

Mark smirked, "I'm shirtless now and we're just talking right?"

Lexie turned a deep red and gave him an embarrassed smile.

"I'm an idiot."

Lexie made a move for the door when Mark grabbed her wrist.

"Lexie, wait."

Mark's hand unexpectedly began to burn with the physical contact and he was finding it hard to form a coherent thought. He didn't know what he wanted to say to her, he just didn't want her to leave. Because of their close proximity, Lexie had to tilt her head back in order to look him in the eye as she waited for Mark to say something. Anything to fill the silence that was filling the room. Mark watched as she bit her lower lip and wanted nothing more than to throw her against the wall and bite her lip for her. Mark shook his head. That line of thinking was only going to get him in trouble.

"You're not an idiot."

Lexie shook her head, "I'm no better than the other gossips in this hospital. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I just saw you in the on-call room and my mind immediately went to sex." Lexie's eyes widened in horror. "Not that I think about sex when I look at you. Uh, not that you aren't sexy." Lexie shut her eyes, "I'm just gonna shut up now."

Mark loved the way Lexie's brain just couldn't seem to keep up with her mouth. It guaranteed that there would never be a dull moment in her presence. Mark's gaze then shifted down to her mouth.

And what a mouth it was.

Soft pink lips that made him yearn with desire to taste with his own. He calculated that he would only need to lean down a couple inches in order to satisfy that desire.

Just as he began to close the distance, Lexie's pager began to vibrate.

Lexie, mildly flustered at what was about to happen, looked at her pager with something that looked suspiciously like disappointment. Mark felt ridiculously happy that she seemed to want the kiss as much as he did.

"It's Dr. Yang. I have to go."

Mark nodded and reluctantly let go of her wrist.

"Have a good evening Dr. Sloan."

Lexie quickly went to the door but stopped when Mark called her name.

"I'll see you tomorrow Lexie," Mark said.

Lexie smiled that special smile of hers and then she was gone.


	10. Chapter 10

**Wow, I think I'm the worst updater in the world. I just want to thank all of you who have been reading and reviewing. They've made me very happy :)  
This update is a bit longer than my previous ones so I hope you enjoy :D  
**

* * *

_Soft pink lips that made him yearn with desire to taste with his own. He calculated that he would only need to lean down a couple inches in order to satisfy that desire.  
__Just as he began to close the distance, Lexie's pager began to vibrate.  
_

_Lexie, mildly flustered at what was about to happen, looked at her pager with something that looked suspiciously like disappointment. Mark felt ridiculously happy that she seemed to want the kiss as much as he did._

_"It's Dr. Yang. I have to go."_

_Mark nodded and reluctantly let go of her wrist._

_"Have a good evening Dr. Sloan."_

_Lexie quickly went to the door but stopped when Mark called her name._

_"I'll see you tomorrow Lexie," Mark said._

_Lexie smiled that special smile of hers and then she was gone._

------

_The Next Day_

_------_

Derek watched in amusement as he took a sip of his coffee. He would never have believe the sight in front of him if he wasn't seeing it with his own two eyes.  
He turned to his right and smiled at the person that came to a stop next to him; surprise apparent on their face.

"I think the entire cafeteria is suffering from shock." Derek said with a laugh.

"Who wouldn't be? I know I am." Callie raised an eyebrow at him before turning her gaze back to the two people in the center of the room.

"Not only is Mark Sloan sitting and eating lunch with an intern. Mark Sloan seems to be enjoying sitting and eating lunch with an intern" she commented.

Callie shivered and took a sip of her own coffee "I think hell just froze over."

Derek smiled and tossed his empty cup into the garbage.

"You have no idea." He then nodded to Callie and left the room.

Callie watched the scene in front of her for five more minutes before deciding she was sufficiently weirded out. As she left the cafeteria, her heart fluttered as she caught a glimpse of Arizona walking down the hall. Callie smiled to herself and tried to suppress the giggle in her throat. She checked her pager and decided she had a few minutes to spare. It was time to stalk the new PEDS surgeon again.

----

Lexie's gaze nervously darted around the room.

"Do I have food on my face?"

Mark inspected her face and frowned, "No. Why?"

She leaned in and whispered, "Everyone is staring at us."

Mark casually looked around the room and shrugged, "They are? I've gotten used to being stared at."

"How can you be used to being stared at?"

"I've been stared at all my life. I'm McSteamy."

Lexie smiled and Mark couldn't help but smile back. Her happiness was contagious.

"You know they call you McSteamy?"

"Yes. And compared to other things I've been called, McSteamy is the nicest."

Lexie frowned and scrunched her nose, "That's the nicest they can come up with?"

Mark shrugged "The nurses hate me. I'm the hospital's resident manwhore."

Lexie hated when he put himself down like that but seeing as they were in the middle of the cafeteria with what seemed like millions of eyes trained on them, she decided to leave that mine field of a conversation for another time.

She took a bite of her sandwich and quickly glanced around the cafeteria again.

"It's like they're waiting for us to burst into song or something."

Mark placed his hand on hers "Lexie, relax. This is between you and me. Nothing else matters. So stop worrying and eat your lunch."

His meaningful words and the soft touch of his hand simultaneously calmed and excited her. When she looked into his eyes, she could tell that he was having the same reaction. It was getting harder each moment to keep their friendship just a friendship; platonic with no messy romantic entanglements. But looking into his eyes and feeling the warmth of his hand made her want to jump him right there.

Lexie smiled softly, "Since when did you get so bossy?"

Mark winked and removed his hand, thankful for the subtle change in atmosphere.

"I've always been bossy. You've just always chosen to ignore it."

Lexie giggled and Mark felt himself become hypnotized with the sound. He watched as she pushed her hair back behind her ears while taking a sip of her juice box.

"Do you really have to drink those?" he asked.

"Yes. I really do."

"Why? They make you look like a child."

"Compared to you, I am a child" Lexie said with a teasing smile.

"_Lexie_" he growled but she was enjoying this too much to be deterred.

"Don't worry Mark," she shivered at the small chill saying his name produced, "I like the gray hair and the wrinkles around your eyes."

Lexie watched as his hands flew to his face and hair and laughed. There was just something addicting about teasing him. She could never imagine there being a playful side to Mark Sloan and she relished every chance she got to see it.

Mark looked up at the sound of her laughter. There was something about Lexie Grey that unhinged him. Maybe it was the fact that she wasn't scared of him or that she was able to look at him as something other than a sex object. But somewhere along the line, Lexie Grey managed to burrow herself under his skin. But even with this newfound affection for her, he wasn't about to let her get away with messing with him. He looked over her shoulder and found a great opportunity.

"I think your boyfriend is jealous."

Lexie looked over her shoulder to find George staring back at them with obvious disgust.

"He's not my boyfriend and he needs to mind his own business."

Mark brought his drink to his lips and raised an eyebrow "Did you two have a fight?"

Lexie sighed and began to rip up her napkin "He's just being really difficult and really childish right now."

She then placed all the pieces in a pile on her tray and smiled at Mark. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. He doesn't matter. It's just you and me here right?"

Her smile widened when he smiled back at her "So, you have any interesting surgeries today?"

Mark noticed the way she tensed up when he mentioned George. He decided to leave that topic alone since it obviously upset her and he didn't want to do anything that upset her.

"Why? Just because we're friends doesn't mean I'm always going to let you in on my surgeries."

Lexie giggled as she put a carrot in her mouth, unknowingly causing Mark's heart to beat faster. How could one seemingly innocent gesture cause such a reaction? And why did he suddenly feel embarrassed staring at her mouth? For years, he never cared how he acted with a member of the opposite sex. But with Lexie it was different. She was nice and pure and he never wanted to do anything that made her feel uncomfortable. Lexie made him feel like his past didn't matter. That all the bad things he's done didn't matter.

She was like a clean slate and he thanked whoever was up there for giving him Little Lexie Grey.

* * *

**Please review and thanks again for reading! =)**


	11. Chapter 11

Over the next two days, Lexie felt like she was walking on a cloud. It was odd because she and Mark were only being friends. Sure there may have been longing glances on her part (she was oblivious to his glances towards her as well) but they managed to keep their relationship strictly platonic. And while being friends with Mark had it's benefits of scrubbing in on extra cool surgeries, even the mighty Dr. Sloan couldn't get her out of this.

Lexie walked into the medical supply closet and began stocking the shelves. The "_Surgical Powers That Be_" still thought she needed mindless work and assigned the task of restocking every supply closet in the building; even the ones in the clinic. The task was meant to take forever to finish in attempts to prevent her from cutting up other interns again. Lexie fully understood the ridiculousness of her previous actions and that she had almost destroyed her career before it even had a chance to begin. But she still couldn't bring herself to feel bad about what she did. Sure, she felt horrible that the surgery went wrong and that Sadie was moments away from death; but that didn't negate the adrenaline rush she felt with that first incision. That moment was what she dreamt about. What she worked herself to the bone for. Becoming a surgeon was her life's dream and she would try to make that happen for as long as she still had air in her lungs and a heart beating in her chest.

She was finished stocking the IV kits and moved on to the bottles of rubbing alcohol with a sigh. Not really paying attention, Lexie vaguely heard the door to the supply closet being shut. Before she knew it, she was then suddenly pushed up against the shelf she was currently restocking. Rough lips captured hers and for a moment she paused. A second passed and when she recognized the smell of his cologne, she relaxed her lips and began to move them against his in response. The stress that had been festering in her body for the past couple weeks flowed out of her body like water down a drain. Her usually chaotic and cluttered mind went blank from the sheer skill of the kiss she was being given. Never in her life had she been kissed like this. Like their lives were on the line and the only way to keep breathing was to transfer the air from one set of lungs to the other.

"I've been wanting to do that all day," said the voice attached the lips currently attacking her own. Lexie involuntarily moaned in response when the warm lips moved from her mouth to her neck.

"Eating that carrot the way you did at lunch wasn't nice. Didn't your mother ever teach you it's not polite to tease?" the voice said, whispering seductive words across her skin. It sent chills from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Her lips tingled like there was a live wire dwelling beneath them.

Lexie pulled the warm and hard body closer to her own until there wasn't even room for a breath.

"Speaking of teasing, I think there's either a banana in your pocket or you're happy to see me" Lexie whispered a little flustered. There was just something about this person that emboldened her. Her hands snaked forward and gently cupped the bulge currently pressed against her center.

"Oh, you have no idea how happy I am to see you" said the voice huskily.

Strong hands then moved from her shoulders and trailed down to the front of her drawstring pants. Swift and dexterous fingers began to untie the tight knot on her scrubs and she felt her breathing become shallow. Long fingers slowly made their way down her body, teasing the skin above her underwear before finally--

The slam of a door snapped Lexie out of her daydream.

Lexie was instantly irritated at the intrusion. She hasn't had a fantasy that vivid in a long time and frankly, she was long overdue for one. She knew without a doubt exactly who the mystery man was. It was the same man that not only haunted her dreams but haunted her daily life. The same man that she vowed would remain just a friend with no messy attachments. A decision she was, not for the first time, regretting with a fiery passion.

Lexie picked up where she left off restocking the closet when she heard a voice.

"Did you have a nice lunch?"

She didn't even have to turn around to see who the mean voice belonged to. Instead of giving in to the temptation of kicking the person in the balls, she continued to stock the medical supply closet.

"As a matter of fact, I did. How was yours? Did you enjoy the view?"

The owner of the voice didn't seem to be bothered by her barb. That should have been the first sign of trouble.

"I just came from the nurses station on the second floor-" he let his voice trail at the end of his sentence, giving her a chance to ask.

Lexie sighed, "I don't care what rumors they're spreading now. It's all probably not true anyway."

The voice continued as if she hadn't spoken. "Apparently, Dr. Montgomery is coming to Seattle for a couple days."

She gave in to temptation and asked "What for?" but tried to sound uninterested.

"Rumor has it her brother has an inoperable brain tumor and she wants Dr. Shepherd to remove it."

A tiny bit of calm flooded Lexie's system. She wasn't happy to hear that Dr. Montgomery's brother was ill but she was relieved that her intention wasn't to come visit a certain handsome plastic surgeon.

"Who knows," the speaker's voice infiltrated her thoughts "she'll probably be in such a terrible mess that she'll need the comfort of old friends."

With that little twist of the knife, the owner of the voice left the room.

The slam of the door followed by silence did little to calm Lexie's nerves. She never thought that sweet and mild mannered George O'Malley could ever be so hurtful.

Her old friend '_insecurity_' crept up behind her as this new information drilled itself into her brain. Compared to her, Addison Montgomery was a goddess. She saved babies performing impossible surgeries all while looking like a runway model. How could she compete with flaming red hair and legs for days?

Grumpily, Lexie haphazardly placed the rest of the rubbing alcohol bottles on the shelf; not really caring whether or not they were positioned correctly. She quickly left the supply closet and was only five feet away from the door when she bumped into something rock solid. Lexie fell to the floor.

"Ow" she exclaimed from her position on the ground.

"I'm so sorry. Are you okay darlin'?"

Lexie felt an unexpected shiver run down her spine at the sound of such an attractive and obviously male voice. A hand appeared in front of her face and she stared at it for a moment in confusion. What did he expect her to do with such a beautiful hand?

"Miss?"

A throat clearing sound came from above when she didn't answer and Lexie looked up.

Lexie's eyes followed the shapely fingers up a lean and muscular arm. Instead of the customary six feet tall, dark and handsome; standing in front of her was six feet tall, bright and gorgeous. His skin had a slight tan as if he had just spent the last couple months on a beach and it was starting to wear off. His eyes were light brown, set in a cute and surprisingly boyish face. His short brown hair, along with the short beard on his face, had a slight red tint to it. His hair was a bit mussed; as if he had just run his fingers through it. She bit back a smile when she at last noticed the big ears sticking out from the side of his head. He wasn't going to be a runway model anytime soon but he was attractive in his own way.

She finally came to her senses and placed her hand in the stranger's. It was rough and sturdy, like he made a living working with his hands. The man effortlessly pulled her to her feet before bending down to pick up the pager that had dislodged itself from her scrubs during their collision.

"I hope it's not broken" said the cheery voice as he handed her the pager. "You hit the ground there pretty hard. Are you okay?"

Lexie smiled, "I'm okay. See?" She held her hands up and spun in a circle. When she returned to her original position, she could have sworn he kept his gaze on her body a second too long for it to be socially appropriate. She felt her entire body heat up at the thought.

"I'm sort of clumsy when I'm in a new place." Cheery voice chuckled before remembering himself, "Ah'm sorry. Where are mah manners?"

This time Lexie caught the subtle southern twang in his voice that would sometimes weave it's way around his words.

"_That would explain the politeness"_ she thought to herself.

Cheery voice struck out his hand again, "James Florence from Virginia."

His smile then turned very warm, "But you can just call me Jamie."

* * *

****

**Did you like it? :)**

I pictured Bryan Greenberg as Jamie but feel free to picture anyone else.


	12. Chapter 12

**So here it is. Finally. Chapter 12...and a pretty long one coming in at 2306 words. **

**I was a bit stuck on where I wanted this story to go and how I wanted to fit in the season five story lines with some of my own AU stuff. But I think I've got it all figured out now....mostly he he XD.**

**This chapter is set after Derek's mother's visit and before Addison's arrival with Archer and gang. This first chunk of the chapter is a bit Meredith/Derek heavy and the rest of it is a bit light on the Mark and Lexie interaction...just because I just like to paint a complete picture with every single character when I write. **

**I will be trying to incorporate some of the season five story lines into this fic (like Addison's visit, Derek's breakdown and Callie's relationship with Arizona) and some things will be completely different...obviously Mark/Lexie with the addition of Jamie. He was sort of an unexpected addition to this story.**

**Okay, long author's note aside. I hope you enjoy!**

**Any and all mistakes are mine. I do not own Grey's Anatomy.  
**

---

Meredith smiled to herself as she spotted Derek standing near the nurse's station. For the first time in a long time, she finally felt at peace with her life. She was at the start of a promising surgical career and was in love with a man who loved her back. Despite her broken childhood of neglect and low self esteem (and the obvious daddy issues,) Meredith Grey's life was finally coming together. Her relationship with Derek was growing and moving on to a new level; a level she never thought would be possible for her...and meeting Derek's mother was a big part of that step forward.

Finally meeting Derek's mother was a fright fest filled with creepy smiles and impossibly high, pink ponytails. She listened to Izzie's advice because mothers always loved girls like Izzie. Bright and bubbly kind of girls that wore pink and baked cupcakes. She listened to Izzie because she really wanted Derek's mother to like her. In the end, she decided it was too exhausting to keep up with the lie Izzie created and came clean...and it all turned out okay. At least that's what Derek said. After Carolyn Shepherd had left, Derek had told her that his mother had actually approved of the dark and twisty version of Meredith Grey.

That hurdle behind her, Meredith was able to imagine all sorts of things. She was even daring to imagine babies and weddings in her future; a very unexpected surprise for her.

But even through the rose tinted glasses she was uncharacteristically wearing, she knew that Derek was having a tough time. The closer she got to Derek's spot at the nurse's station, the more she was able to notice the bags under his eyes. The past few weeks haven't been kind to him at all.

First he had to set aside his own personal feelings and help save the life of a serial killer...even though he wanted nothing more than to leave him to die.

Now, he was straddling two near impossible cases. One was a pregnant woman named Jen Harmon, who for some reason, has been having seizures; one which caused her to run over her husband with her car. Derek thought this, along with the high blood pressure, might be a sign of something more serious going on. He was still waiting for the scans to come back before going forward with any treatment.

The other patient was Archer Montgomery; his ex brother-in-law. Addison had called Derek in a panic when she found out her brother was suffering from seizures because of a tumor. Turns out, it wasn't a brain tumor but parasites. Parasites lodged in his brain that most doctors wouldn't go near for fear of rupturing the sacs. But Derek promised Addison he would try the best he could. That kind of determination and dedication to his job were just some of the reasons why Meredith loved him.

She was about to give Derek some more words of encouragement when she noticed her younger sister standing in the middle of the hallway...talking to some guy. Meredith watched as Lexie giggled at something Mystery Guy had said.

"Who's that guy talking to Lexie?" she asked Derek.

"I don't know" Derek mumbled.

"You didn't even look Derek."

When he showed no signs of putting down the file in his hands, Meredith took it from him.

"_You_ need a break." She then smiled, "you're starting to get gray hairs."

"Ha. Maybe that's because I'm dating a Grey," Derek teased with a chuckle.

"Cute. And how long have you been waiting to use that one?" she teased right back.

Derek just smiled and snatched the file back from her grasp. "I don't have time for a break. Archer is getting here in a couple days and if I'm not prepared..." he let his sentence taper off. He didn't want to say anything to jinx himself.

Meredith placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You're more than prepared Derek. You're the best neurosurgeon in the world."

Derek's smile was tiny and didn't quite meet his eyes, but Meredith didn't mind.

She knew when there was a time to smile and when there was a time to be dark and twisty.

---

"James Florence from Virginia."

His smile then turned very warm, "But you can just call me Jamie."

Lexie stuck out her hand and introduced herself, "Lexie Grey."

Jamie smiled and shook her hand, reminding Lexie how warm and sturdy his hands were.

Lexie then tilted her head inquisitively, "You're pretty far from home _James Florence of Virginia_."

Jamie smiled and adjusted the pack on his back Lexie had originally overlooked. "Just visiting. Ah'm part of a volunteer group called _Habitat for Humanity_. We go around the country and help build or repair buildings for those who need it."

Lexie couldn't help but feel a little more friendly towards him. Anyone that took time out of their own lives to help others was more than okay in her book.

Jamie then pointed in a direction that Lexie could only guess was East. "Right now we're building a house for an unemployed single mom with three kids not far from here."

"Wow" came Lexie's amazed response. "That sounds amazing. I'm sure that family really appreciates everything you're doing."

Jamie turned a slight pink from embarrassment and rubbed his left earlobe. "Thanks. There are a lot of other people helping out so it isn't like Ah'm building it by myself."

Lexie smiled "Still, I think it's really selfless what you're doing. Not many people would help complete strangers."

When she realized that her praise was making him even more embarrassed, she decided to change the subject.

"How are you liking Seattle?"

"It's beautiful. Whenever I get a chance, I like to go in the woods."

"So if I were to tell you to _take a hike_..."

"...then I would _literally_ take a hike." Jamie said with a warm smile.

Jamie then shook his head and laughed, "Although the rain is slowly driving me crazy" he said, causing Lexie to laugh along with him.

"I know the feeling."

"So what brings you to Seattle Grace Hospital?" Lexie asked and noticed Jamie started rubbing his earlobe again. She was beginning to think that was something he did when he was either nervous or embarrassed.

"Just visiting" he said cryptically.

Lexie sensed that he didn't want to talk about his real reason for being here so she let it go. People were entitled to their secrets...and she definitely already had her share of them. Just yesterday, Dr. Shepherd had showed her and their patient Jen Harmon the ring he was going to propose to Meredith with. It took all of her self-restraint to keep from giving it away whenever Meredith entered a room.

This time it was Jamie's turn to ask a question, "So I'm guessing by the scrubs you're wearing you work here?"

Lexie nodded and pulled the lapel of her jacket across the front of her body, "I'm actually Dr. Lexie Grey."

Jamie's eyebrows went up in surprise"You're a doctor? No kidding. You can't be more than nineteen years old."

Lexie giggled a bit as she placed a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm actually twenty-four...but most of my fellow interns are twenty-five." She then leaned forward as if disclosing a secret and Jamie leaned towards her. "I skipped third grade."

Jamie leaned back away from her impressed. "Wow. That's a mighty big accomplishment. I would have skipped too if it weren't for those damn multiplication tables" he said while rolling his eyes.

The soft sounds of their laughter traveled all the way down to the end of the hall, filling the ears of a certain irritated attending watching on.

--

"This friends without benefits is _hard_," Mark whined to Callie. "All I want to do is bring her back to my hotel room and-"

Callie held up her hand without looking up from the chart in her hands. "Too much information Mark. We've talked about this...I don't need the details of your sex life."

"What sex life?" Mark groaned as he leaned against the nurse's desk next to Callie. "I mean who am I kidding. There is no way I'm gonna be able to _just_ be friends with her."

Callie continued writing in her patient's chart "Sure you can. Look at us, we're friends."

Mark raised an eyebrow "We've already slept together Torres."

Callie shrugged, "Yes, but we're not sleeping together now."

"Well no. Not since you started batting for the other team." He then got a thoughtful look on his face, "Unless you count the time I tried teaching you _The Sloan Method_ for E-"

"SSH!" Callie placed a hand over his mouth. "Don't say her name."

"FFhne" came Mark's muffled response.

Callie removed her hand, satisfied with his compliance. She then laughed as she closed a patient's file in front of her. "I never thought I'd see the day when Mark Sloan worked hard to make sure a woman's pants stayed on instead of, you know, charming them out of 'em."

"Hilarious Torres," Mark said while giving her a glare that said how unamused he actually was.

He waited for Callie to deliver another snarky comment when she suddenly became eerily quiet. Mark turned his face to look at her and noticed that she looked like she was frozen. He followed her line of sight and chuckled when he noticed what she was so mesmerized by.

"Speaking of charming the pants of women, how's it going getting into Dr. Robbins' pants?"

Callie sighed, "Not good." She then leaned forward and rested her chin on her hand. "Being a lesbian is hard" Callie said, blowing her hair off her face with the side of her mouth. "Ever since she kissed me in the bathroom, it's like she's disappeared off the face of the earth."

Mark frowned, "Didn't you just tell me this morning that you followed her for about twenty minutes before your rounds?"

Callie waved her hand in the air like she was brushing his words aside. "Whatever. She hasn't talked to me at all and I don't know what to do. Should I make a move? Should I wait for her to make a move?"

"You mean _another_ move?" Mark teased wickedly.

Callie glared at him, "You're. Not. Helping."

Mark then smiled genuinely, "Charming a woman is easy. Just be yourself. If you have confidence and believe you're the best; every woman will believe that you really are the best. You need to-" Mark's voice trailed off as his attention was suddenly pulled somewhere else.

Callie turned her head to look at Mark. It seems that this time, Mark was the one that was frozen solid.

"Hello?" Callie said while waving a hand in front of his face. When he didn't respond Callie followed his line of sight and her eyes widened. She had a bad feeling everything was about to go very, _very_ wrong.

Looking back at Mark's face, Callie could see the signs of anger beginning to show. His jaw tensed, the skin around his eyes was very tight and she could see a vein in his neck pulsing rapidly. Not a good sign.

Callie looked down the hallway at Lexie and her mystery man. He wasn't someone she recognized and if she was being honest, which she wasn't about to be in front of Mark, Mystery Dude was pretty cute. She might be playing for a new team but that doesn't mean she can't admire the other players.

What she wanted to know was _who the hell was Lexie talking to_?

And why did they look like they were flirting?

Callie looked back at Mark and wondered whether she should just leave now and keep herself out of the inevitable shit storm that was about to pass.

Or stay and try to keep Mark out of trouble.

---

After leaving the interesting Dr. Grey, and receiving some odd glares from an older doctor, Jamie walked down a couple more a hallways before reaching an information desk. A nurse directed him towards a set of glass doors and told him he would be able to find what he was looking for in there.

At first glance, Jamie hadn't recognized the man beside the incubator. But when he finally did recognize him, Jamie was shocked...and sort of confused. He never thought the man in front of him would ever be working near children, let alone look like he was _enjoying_ it.

Jamie Florence took a deep breath and adjusted his backpack before opening the sliding doors.

---

At the sound of doors opening up behind him, Alex Karev began spouting off the vitals of the premature infant in front of him.

He then excitedly added, "Bailey, his color is finally coming back."

"I'm not Bailey" said a rough voice behind him. A voice that caused every cell in Alex's body to freeze.

Alex slowly turned around and immediately felt panicky. Standing in front of him was a man he never expected to see again.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" Alex said through gritted teeth.

Jamie shook his head in disappointment, "I thought you'd be happy to see me."

"Why would I ever be happy to see you?" Alex spat out.

Jamie was offended by Alex's statement.

"Because I'm your brother."

* * *

**So? Like it?**

**Please review, I really appreciate the feedback I get from this story!  
**


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